Red

By Somalia Seaton

When her best friend Jay goes missing, Dee withdraws into a twilight world of fragmented memories and conversations, shattered by her grief. Where should she look for Jay? What did she miss? What did Jay say? And what couldn’t she say?

About the Script

Jay has gone missing.

Her best friend Dee doesn’t know where she’s gone or why.

To look for her, Dee retreats into Dusk, a magical twilight world, conjuring up the fragmented memories of Jay. She goes over their last days together with their group of friends, their conversations as they laugh, joke and play around the cul-de-sacs of their community. But Dee’s version of events has become tainted by the absence of Jay. They are a way of remembering and understanding, rehashing what she missed, or what Jay couldn’t say to her. But they are also the only way she can hold onto Jay.

Day, in contrast to Dusk, happens in real time. Her friends worry about her, wondering if Jay even wants to be found. Dee is caught, between the enchanting world she’s created to hold onto the memory of her best friend, and the mundane reality of suburbia, where life must simply go on.

At once moving, funny and tender, Red offers a window into the individual and collective concerns of any group of young women through this single, devastating event. It is an unflinching and bold exploration of the internal lives of young women, and what happens when their world is shattered by grief.

Set

The play takes place across two worlds: Day and Dusk. Day happens in real time and concerns the ordinary spaces of suburbia. Dusk is a sparse and mystical world. The script suggests the contrast is made through lighting, but this can also be shown in other ways. There are few noted uses of props, and there is flexibility to disregard these.

Casting

There are five named characters, and a chorus which is flexible in size to accommodate different groups.